Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar 7’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1038.
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2. brenna (verb; °brennr/brenn; brann, brunnu; brunninn): (strong, intransitive)
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ból (noun n.; °-s; -): dwelling
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2. en (conj.): but, and
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2. renna (verb): run (strong)
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bǫl (noun n.; °-s, dat. bǫlvi): evil
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2. vinna (verb): perform, work
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gnógr (adj.; °compar. gnógari/gnǿgri, superl. gnógastr/gnǿgstr): abundant
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til (prep.): to
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skógr (noun m.; °-ar/-s, dat. -i; -ar): forest
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lýðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir): one of the people
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sveit (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): host, company
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áðr (adv.; °//): before
[3] létti ‘stopped’: This emendation, proposed by Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1832, 9, 20), has been accepted by all subsequent eds. The ms. reading ‘léti’ is most likely the 3rd pers. sg. pret. subj. of láta ‘to let’. The sense would then be something like ‘before it [the fire] died’ (cf. Fritzner: láta 12). However, when láta occurs in this sense it is usually the refl. (látask) or p. p. form (látinn ‘dead’), and there are no parallels for its being applied to a non-human referent. On single/double consonant spellings in Bb, see further Note to st. 5/3 ár*.
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1. lim (noun f.; °; -ar): limb < limgarmr (noun m.): [branch-hound]
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garmr (noun m.): dog < limgarmr (noun m.): [branch-hound]
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Skotr (noun m.): Scot
[4] Skotar ‘Scots’: As for the raids in Ireland mentioned in st. 6, the primary textual witness of Óláfr’s battles with the Scots is Hfr Óldr 6; cf. the later HSt Rst 6.
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2. armr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): wretched
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
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hrynja (verb): fall, flow < hrynslóð (noun f.)
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hrynja (verb): fall, flow < hrynslóð (noun f.)
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hrynja (verb): fall, flow < hrynslóð (noun f.)
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slóð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): path, track < hrynslóð (noun f.)
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slóð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): path, track < hrynslóð (noun f.)
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slóð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): path, track < hrynslóð (noun f.)
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heiðinn (adj.): heathen
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
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eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire
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eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire
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þverrir (noun m.): diminisher
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vagna (noun f.; °*-u): killer whale, orca
[7] vǫgnu ‘of the orca’: The rare word vagna f. (also vǫgn f.) ‘orca, killer-whale’ (Orcinus orca) occurs again in st. 28/7.
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vagna (noun f.; °*-u): killer whale, orca
[7] vǫgnu ‘of the orca’: The rare word vagna f. (also vǫgn f.) ‘orca, killer-whale’ (Orcinus orca) occurs again in st. 28/7.
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vagna (noun f.; °*-u): killer whale, orca
[7] vǫgnu ‘of the orca’: The rare word vagna f. (also vǫgn f.) ‘orca, killer-whale’ (Orcinus orca) occurs again in st. 28/7.
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víðr (adj.): far
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4. of (particle): (before verb)
[7-8] of eignaðr Gauti ‘dedicated to Gautr [Óðinn]’: Ms. eignað is not a known form so it is necessary to emend, and eignaðr (m. nom. sg.) ‘dedicated, assigned’ agrees with herr m. ‘army’. The present phrase is equivalent to the more common gefa/senda Óðni ‘to give/send to Óðinn’, a common skaldic expression for death in battle (see Note to Þjsk Hák 1/5, 8). The idea that those slain in battle belong to Óðinn is traditional (Grí 8-10; SnE 2005, 21; Hkr, ÍF 26, 22). It is striking here, in the work of a skald grounded in Christian tradition, but it fits with the (presumably inaccurate) presentation of the Scots as heathen in l. 5.
[7-8] of eignaðr Gauti ‘dedicated to Gautr [Óðinn]’: Ms. eignað is not a known form so it is necessary to emend, and eignaðr (m. nom. sg.) ‘dedicated, assigned’ agrees with herr m. ‘army’. The present phrase is equivalent to the more common gefa/senda Óðni ‘to give/send to Óðinn’, a common skaldic expression for death in battle (see Note to Þjsk Hák 1/5, 8). The idea that those slain in battle belong to Óðinn is traditional (Grí 8-10; SnE 2005, 21; Hkr, ÍF 26, 22). It is striking here, in the work of a skald grounded in Christian tradition, but it fits with the (presumably inaccurate) presentation of the Scots as heathen in l. 5.
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vápn (noun n.; °-s; -): weapon < vápnbautinn (adj./verb p.p.)
[8] vápnbautinn ‘weapon-beaten’: The ms. reading ‘-in’ here must be taken as normalised -inn since no noun in the helmingr agrees with ms. vápnbautin, which would be the f. nom. sg. or n. nom./acc. pl. form of this adjectival p. p. There are further instances in the poem where the ms. reads ‘-in’ but the syntax appears to require ‑inn (sts 24/2 rekinn ‘cast’ and 24/3 hǫggvinn ‘slain’), and of the reverse (st. 8/6 fengin ‘provided’). Because such variability in unstressed syllables is common in Old Norse mss, changes are treated as normalisation rather than emendation; the ms. spelling is given in Readings. The handling of single/double consonants in stressed syllables in Bb is also erratic, but in these cases changes are treated as emendations: see Notes to l. 3 above and to st. 5/3 ár*.
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bauta (verb; °-að-): [beaten] < vápnbautinn (adj./verb p.p.)
[8] ‑bautinn: bautin Bb
[8] vápnbautinn ‘weapon-beaten’: The ms. reading ‘-in’ here must be taken as normalised -inn since no noun in the helmingr agrees with ms. vápnbautin, which would be the f. nom. sg. or n. nom./acc. pl. form of this adjectival p. p. There are further instances in the poem where the ms. reads ‘-in’ but the syntax appears to require ‑inn (sts 24/2 rekinn ‘cast’ and 24/3 hǫggvinn ‘slain’), and of the reverse (st. 8/6 fengin ‘provided’). Because such variability in unstressed syllables is common in Old Norse mss, changes are treated as normalisation rather than emendation; the ms. spelling is given in Readings. The handling of single/double consonants in stressed syllables in Bb is also erratic, but in these cases changes are treated as emendations: see Notes to l. 3 above and to st. 5/3 ár*.
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falla (verb): fall
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2. Gautr (noun m.): Gautr, Óðinn
[7-8] of eignaðr Gauti ‘dedicated to Gautr [Óðinn]’: Ms. eignað is not a known form so it is necessary to emend, and eignaðr (m. nom. sg.) ‘dedicated, assigned’ agrees with herr m. ‘army’. The present phrase is equivalent to the more common gefa/senda Óðni ‘to give/send to Óðinn’, a common skaldic expression for death in battle (see Note to Þjsk Hák 1/5, 8). The idea that those slain in battle belong to Óðinn is traditional (Grí 8-10; SnE 2005, 21; Hkr, ÍF 26, 22). It is striking here, in the work of a skald grounded in Christian tradition, but it fits with the (presumably inaccurate) presentation of the Scots as heathen in l. 5.
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Brunnu ból, en runnu |
Dwellings burned, and the wretched Scots ran to the forest; a powerful branch-hound [FIRE] caused the crowd of folk disaster, before it stopped, and the heathen army fell widely, dedicated to Gautr [Óðinn], weapon-beaten before the diminisher of the fires of the rushing path of the orca [SEA > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN].
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